In it the Summer’s wrath and mother’s spleen end!
It is ‘Kacha-mithe aam’er chatni’ [Chutney of Sweet-n-Sour Mango] – absolutely ambrosial – neighbours’ envy, Bengal’s pride!
Tropicality plays prime in vivifying this Bengali delicacy making it a refreshing delight of summer – mischievous, thick, marginally hot, delectably spicy, sticky and prepared with unpeeled green mangoes cut into fleshy slices. Theoretically, a chutney is just fruit and sugar cooked down to a reduction. But in Bengal it far outgrows the theoretic confines blending finely into the timbre of humdrum life. Nothing pleases more than scraping the sweet flesh off the sliced pit with teeth over a sweaty summery lunch. Roasted ground spices and black cumin seeds drizzled from top add to its flavoury mystique.
I ask for more! My spat with Ma dissolves in the sugary mix.
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